Including sexual orientation and gender identity in federal health data

[Natasha]

Including sexual orientation and gender identity in federal health data

http://www.feministing.com/archives/015148.html
4/30/09

I understand reservations about differentiating between different sexual orientations and gender identities when collecting this data -- because research can be manipulated to make generalizations and downplay or ignore people's individual experiences. (We discussed this in the comments to Courtney's post on the New York Times Magazine piece on female desire.) But in order to advocate for big-picture solutions to address the ways LGBTQ folks are discriminated against in the health system, it would really help to know how widespread problems are. That's where data come in -- and why I ultimately think it's a good idea to ask that info like gender identity and sexual orientation be included in data collection.